Pastor Miles to Newsmax: Left Has 'Been Able to Hijack the Church'

By James Morley III | Saturday, 14 November 2026 02:54 PM EST

Pastor Lucas Miles, vice president of Turning Point USA Faith and author of "Woke Jesus" and "Pagan Threat," told Newsmax on Saturday that left-wing politicians are increasingly using Christianity as a vehicle to advance Marxist ideology while rejecting fundamental Christian teachings.

Appearing on Newsmax's "America Right Now," Miles criticized Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian who has said Islamic poets influenced his faith as much as Christian writers.

"I think we've been seeing Talarico's viewpoint for some time," Miles said.

"And this is inherently not Christian. I think we have to be very clear that what he is espousing does not align with historic Christianity. And this is really a rejection of Christian doctrine."

Miles warned that voters must recognize the distinction between traditional Christian beliefs and what he described as attempts by the political left to exploit religion for electoral purposes.

"I think we're seeing this across the board with the left is using the skin of the church or the skin of Christianity in order to, you know, as a vehicle, essentially to push their ideas across the finish line," he said.

Asked about efforts by socialists and the far left to embrace religious messaging despite their secular political philosophies, Miles argued that the strategy reflects a decadeslong effort to infiltrate American institutions.

"Look, this is nothing new, right? The communists have been talking about the long march through the institutions," Miles said.

"And we're certainly seeing that, except for now, we're coming to a point where they've been very successful."

"They've made it all the way through the institutions," he continued.

"They've been able to hijack the church. They've been able to hijack major mainstream denominations and kind of place their ideologues in these positions, really, to push additional propaganda."

Miles accused progressive religious leaders of distorting Christianity to promote political objectives and urged traditional believers to challenge those teachings.

"They're using Jesus as propaganda for Marxism," Miles said. "And I think this is where true Christians have to stand up. We have to use our voice."

Drawing a parallel with the early Christian church's efforts to confront theological disputes, Miles called for renewed efforts to defend established Christian doctrine.

"Early church councils were convened to be able to draw the line in the sand against heretics and false ideologies," he said. "And we really need the same thing to happen today."

"We might have 45,000 denominations in the world, but we only have one Jesus," Miles concluded.


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